Realization: Shido's Feelings
by MeisterYM
Summary: Spoiler Warning: The story takes place after Volume 7 of the light novel when Shido Itsuka rescues Tohka Yatogami from DEM Industries and seals Miku Izayoi's powers. Notes: 1.) Characters do not behave like they normally do in the light novel or anime series. 2.) Kurumi's side story from the volume labeled "Date a Live Encore" is used. 3.) This fan fiction overall is fairly long.
1. Prologue & Chapter 1

Realization: Shido's Feelings (Prologue & Chapter 1)

By: MeisterYM

**_Prologue_**

Today, a handful of people were walking along the sidewalks of Tenguu City. Many of them looked as if they were returning from work while others seemed as if they were recently finished with classes. Along with the crowd of students and businessmen were a small number of couples who were enjoying their weekend by having a date.

"Date…huh…"

For someone like Shido Itsuka, the word "date" had been heard and used countless times.

While mulling over the word "date", Shido couldn't help but think about how much had changed since that fateful day, and how he went on one of his most important dates yet.

Almost a year ago Shido's world had turned upside down as he was faced with the decision to either save his little sister, Kotori, or leave her to die from a natural disaster known as a spacequake, an anomaly that distorted space and produced a large shockwave which had the potential to destroy an entire city.

Seeing as how Kotori was the only family he had at the time, he didn't even think twice about going to rescue her.

On Kotori's birthday, both she and Shido had promised to meet at a family restaurant after school to get her a "Deluxe Mix Plate", which happened to be a dish that Kotori favored. Kotori had begged Shido with a face that he couldn't say no to, and so they had promised to go – even if a spacequake occurred.

Unfortunately, as if through some cruel irony, Tenguu City's spacequake alarm sounded moments after both of the siblings headed off to school, and Shido had noticed that Kotori's location at the time was at the restaurant. Even though Shido and Kotori had agreed to go there - regardless of the risk of being in the middle of a spacequake - Shido took that part of the promise as a joke. After all, Kotori wouldn't seriously risk her life for a Deluxe Mix Plate.

Despite believing that Kotori wouldn't actually do something as reckless as waiting for her older brother in the middle of a spacequake, the phone that gave Kotori's position filled Shido's head with doubt.

As Shido was heading towards the restaurant, the spacequake erupted, with Shido at its mercy. Miraculously, Shido was uninjured despite the sudden explosion, though a large crater was formed in the middle of the city. In the middle of that crater was where everything had begun, for within it Shido saw the person who had changed his life forever.

A spirit was a being that appeared randomly after a spacequake, and each of them had the ability to cause spacequakes themselves. Spirits were equipped with clothing known as an astral dress, which served as armor for the spirits due to their magical properties. Along with the astral dress came what was known as an angel, which served as a spirit's weapon. With the mysterious ability of causing natural disasters and also the potential to bring harm to countless individuals, spirits were deemed as a threat to humanity, and so humanity sought to eliminate the spirits by hiring groups such as the Anti-Spirit Team (AST).

The girl in the crater whom Shido had met that day was considered a spirit, and after being nearly killed by her multiple times, Shido had found a way to "save" the spirits without resorting to violence.

As it turned out, Kotori was the leader of "Ratatoskr", an organization whose goal was to help the spirits without killing them by sealing their powers that could produce the spacequakes. With the help of Ratatoskr, Shido was able to save many spirits such as the one in the crater: Tohka Yatogami, codename: Princess.

In order to save spirits such as Tohka, however, Shido had to fulfill two requirements with the help of Ratatoskr if he wanted to save them without having them killed by the AST. The first requirement was to have the spirits fall in love with Shido, which required him to take them on dates. The objective of the date was to raise their affection levels for Shido, similar to a visual novel or dating sim. The second requirement was to have Shido kiss the spirits after having them fall in love with him, this was the process that sealed the power of a spirit. As of yet, making spirits fall in love and kissing them is the only known method to save them without violence.

Due to this method, Shido was able to follow Ratatoskr's instructions for most of his missions and saved other countless spirits such as the little girl, Yoshino, the twins, Kaguya and Yuzuru, the popular idol, Miku, and even Kotori who was also a spirit.

With each mission, Shido was able to bring happiness to the spirits and allow each of them to live a normal life. Together with the girls, whose powers that Shido had sealed, all of them would be able to live together in peace.

However the peace that Shido was striving for was only able to reach a few of the spirits, and there was still one who Shido had failed to save. To this very day, Shido has thought about that one spirit whom he couldn't save, a spirit with the codename "Nightmare". Because of his failure, Shido nearly hated himself for it. He had chosen to help the spirits live a life of peace, and yet he couldn't save a single person.

The spirit who Shido has yet to encounter again was a spirit that was different from the other girls he had met. Unlike them, Shido had seen the dark side of her personality, and it was a void that instilled a cold terror like no other. Compared to the other spirits, she was considered the worst, and Shido had seen with his very own eyes how far she could take things. On his first attempt at a date with the spirit, Shido had seen a man blown to pieces by the one he was trying to save. The only reason Shido was still alive was because of his sister, Mana Takamiya, who saved him during one of Nightmare's attacks and claims to be his true sister. After suffering injuries from her battle with Nightmare, Mana is now working with Ratatoskr, and recently saved Kotori and the rest of the crew from Miku's rebellion.

Meanwhile Nightmare, like the other spirits who Shido had succeeded in saving, had also taken a liking to Shido, but it didn't seem like the sense of like that was love. Instead the feeling was more like desire, a desire to devour him whole. Despite the tremendous fear that he felt, Shido tried in vain to save Nightmare, but she disappeared after being attacked by Kotori who had unleashed her own powers as a spirit. Thus the objective immediately changed from saving Nightmare to saving Kotori. While Shido succeeded in saving Kotori, the spirit whom he was supposed to save before Kotori had vanished without a trace until months after Tohka was kidnapped by a company known as DEM Industries.

DEM Industries is still at large, and their goal at the time was to capture Tohka in order to use her spirit powers. When all hope seemed lost, Shido was saved by the one person who he thought would be the last person in the world to help him. With Nightmare's help, Shido was able to convince the idol, Miku, to help him save Tohka, and together the three of them recovered Tohka from DEM Industries.

However soon after saving Tohka, Nightmare had once again vanished without a trace.

**_Chapter 1_**

It was seven in the evening, and Shido had told Tohka and the others that he would be busy for a while, so he would be coming home late.

Shido had been sitting at a park bench for hours as he watched the crowd of people in Tenguu City come and go until it was only him and a few other civilians.

Shido was wearing casual clothing tonight, and he told Kotori on the phone that she should have dinner without him. At first Kotori was suspicious of Shido, but after remembering what he had told her a few days ago, she respected his decision and responded with a doubtful voice.

"Alright, just make sure to come home safe, Onii-chan."

After hanging up the phone, Shido sat on the park bench for another hour, until finally no one was around. It was eight thirty in the evening, and it was time for Shido to make his move. After making sure that no one else was around to see, Shido stood up from the bench.

"So, are you a clone or the real one?" Shido asked aloud.

At first nothing happened, but a few seconds later Shido noticed a shadow behind the tree in front of him slightly shift. Moments after that, Shido had spotted the person he was looking for.

"My, since when did you notice that I was watching you, Shido-san?" asked a familiar voice.

The person who was behind the tree walked out into one of the walkways of the park until Shido could see her clearly under a spotlight. She wore a glowing red and black dress that looked like one would take to a ball and had an elegant voice along with a well-mannered dialect. The hair on both sides of her face were tied, and if one were to look at her eyes closely, they would notice that her right eye was a color of crimson red, and her left eye was a color of golden yellow. The eye that was yellow displayed a faint design of a clock.

After seeing the girl clearly and making sure that she was the one he was looking for, Shido had grown a little nervous, but after recalling the previous events that had occurred, he immediately closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

After calming down, Shido opened his eyes, and was relieved to see that the girl was still there.

"You didn't answer my question," Shido said calmly, "are you a clone or the real one?"

"Quite the approach you're taking tonight, aren't you, Shido-san?" teased the girl, "Who knows if I'm the real one or not?"

The girl gave a noticeable grin as if she enjoyed teasing Shido, but Shido was used to her way of toying with him. After all, during their first date she was willing to show Shido her panties and even bought the underwear that he was forced to recommend, no thanks to Kotori and Reine-san.

After thinking about the underwear scene from their first date, it was difficult for Shido to keep a straight face, and he chuckled a little as he made a grin of his own. The girl who was in front of him gave a look of wonder, but responded afterwards with her own smile. It was times like these that made Shido forget the wickedness that the girl in front of him was capable of making him feel. Back then, if he wasn't careful around her, he might not even be having this conversation with her right now. He had reminded himself several times after dating one of her clones that she was the one who could blow him to bits and pieces that couldn't be put together again.

Yes, this was her. This was the spirit whom Shido had failed to save, codename: Nightmare, also known as Kurumi Tokisaki.

"Was there something that you needed so badly that you had to get my attention, Shido-san?" Kurumi asked.

After recollecting his thoughts, Shido regained his composure and had a serious look again.

"Yeah…" replied Shido.

With another deep breath, Shido looked at Kurumi with intensity and started to tell her what he was thinking about all week.

"…Kurumi. Go on another date with me. I won't take no for an answer."

**_To Be Continued_**


	2. Chapter 2

Realization: Shido's Feelings (Chapter 2)

By: MeisterYM

**_Chapter 2_**

Kurumi remained in the walkway, staring at Shido with slightly widened eyes. There was a moment of silence, and then laughter. The laughter was coming from Kurumi.

"Another date?" Kurumi questioned. "My, Shido-san, you must not be able to get enough of me. I'm flattered."

Kurumi said those last words with a chimed tone, as if trying to tease Shido further.

Shido only stood there, and gave a faint smile.

"Yeah, I guess I can't."

Being slightly surprised by his response, Kurumi looked at Shido with a face that said that it was perplexed. Despite not being sure if Shido was joking or not, Kurumi's curiosity towards Shido grew, and so she gave his offer some thought. A few moments later…

"Very well, I'll humor you and accompany you on another date. I'm curious as to what's making you act so boldly today," Kurumi responded.

And with that, Shido was having a third date with Kurumi. This time he wasn't on a mission, and so he had no instructions from Ratatoskr. Kotori and Reine-san won't be around to back him up, but Shido was more than happy about that, however he found it rather strange.

He was more than happy to be alone with Kurumi.

After agreeing to go on a date with Shido, Kurumi had used her powers as a spirit to change her clothes to one that was more appropriate. The dress that Kurumi had decided to wear was the same one that she had worn during their first date.

"Now then, where should we go first?" Kurumi asked.

As soon as she had changed clothes, Kurumi quickly moved towards Shido, wrapped her arms around his right one, and gave a smile as she brought her head closer to his shoulder.

Despite this being his third date with her, Shido wasn't used to having Kurumi cling to him, which made his heart pound for a short moment, however it was a date with Kurumi, and Shido was determined to make tonight as fun as possible. While trying not to panic, Shido offered a place to visit.

"Hmm, if I remember correctly, there was a festival going on around here," Shido spoke.

"A festival? That sounds like it'd be quite fun," Kurumi beamed.

"Do you feel like going to the festival then?" Shido asked.

"Yes," she replied, "that sounds like it would be wonderful."

And with that they walked to the festival as Kurumi warmly hugged Shido's arm.

The festival ended up being a few blocks away from the park that Shido was waiting at. In all honesty, Shido had already anticipated that people would gather where the festival was being held, which was why he chose to wait at the park in order to convince Kurumi to come out.

In fact, Shido was surprised that Kurumi didn't take the chance to devour Shido like she wanted to when he made sure that they were both alone.

"Shido-san, what's that?" Kurumi asked while pointing to a food court.

Shido examined the food court, and noticed that the stand that Kurumi was referring to was one that served crepes.

"Oh, those are crepes. Have you never had crepes before, Kurumi?" Shido inquired.

Kurumi shook her head.

"No, I don't believe I have."

"How about we try one then?" Shido offered.

As Shido and Kurumi got to the crepe stand, they both ordered a crepe of their own and started eating.

"How is it?" Shido asked.

"It's sweet…and delicious," Kurumi replied with a happy face.

The fact that Kurumi was smiling made the pace of Shido's heart quicken a little faster. He was wondering if this was all it took to make a spirit happy. He's noticed that spirits like Kurumi could have an appetite that would devour everything like Tohka. Or maybe Tohka was just special.

Suddenly, Shido noticed a crepe that wasn't his own being offered to his face.

"Would you like to try mine?" Kurumi asked eagerly.

"Uh, sure."

Shido panicked for being caught off guard at first before replying, but seeing as how eagerly Kurumi had offered him her crepe, he thought it was in both of their best interests to accept. As he bit into the crepe, he realized that what Kurumi had ordered was indeed sweet and delicious. In fact, it was so delicious that he lost his senses for a while.

During the time Shido was admiring the taste, he felt his crepe move in his hands a little and noticed that Kurumi had taken a bite out of his.

"Eh, Kurumi…?" Shino exclaimed in wonder.

Kurumi was eating part of his crepe with a look that said it was only fair for taking a bite out of hers.

"As I thought, you also have an interesting taste," Kurumi pointed out.

After finishing the crepes, Shido and Kurumi walked around some more with Kurumi still clinging to his arm.

A few minutes later, Shido had noticed a group of girls in yukatas. Each of them looked as if they were giving off a radiance of their own, and Shido realized that he recognized all of them. Tohka and the others had decided to attend the festival, no doubt for the food and entertainment.

"Not good," mumbled Shido.

"Oh my," said Kurumi, "If it isn't the other spirits that you've saved."

Kurumi made that last statement with the intention of teasing Shido again.

"Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea to go on this date tonight."

"Wha, of course not," Shido said instinctively, "It doesn't matter if they're here, this is our date for tonight."

Shido had been wanting to go on a date with Kurumi for a while, and so what he said wasn't a lie at all, but he noticed that what he just said was rather spontaneous, and so he felt a little embarrassed after realizing that he had just said that out loud. Even if it was a way to keep Kurumi from leaving, he felt that he may have overdone it a bit.

"I see," remarked Kurumi, "Well, if you say so, Shido-san."

Kurumi gave another smile, and it felt as though each smile was warmer than the last. Shido kept in mind then that he should be ready for other moments such as this one.

As he watched the girls walk to what looked like a shrine, he noticed that Kurumi was also looking at them.

"Hey, Shido-san," Kurumi started, "Would I look good in a yukata?"

Pondering over Kurumi's question, multiple images of Kurumi in a yukata suddenly flashed in Shido's mind, and he shook his head a little to keep his thoughts clear. Despite telling himself previously to be ready for another blunder, Shido tried to regain his composure and nervously asked: "D-Do you want to try one?"

"Yes," replied Kurumi, "I think I do."

Without any warning or hesitation, Kurumi changed outfits again, except this time her black dress was replaced with a yukata that made her look beyond what Shido had pictured. While her hair remained the same, the yukata that Kurumi had changed into made him look at her in a much brighter way. Kurumi looked beautiful, so beautiful that Shido convinced himself that his face was as red as the sash that she wore with the yukata.

Fortunately, Tohka and the others were in the shrine, so they didn't noticed Kurumi changing her clothes so awkwardly, and the people who were looking at Kurumi were absolutely speechless. It was as if they didn't care that a girl mysteriously transformed her clothes to satisfy the appropriateness of the event, especially when she looked insanely great in it.

"T-That really suits you. You look amazing," Shido admitted slowly in awe.

Even with Kurumi's usual composure, her face turned a noticeable red as the people within the festival admired her beauty. It seemed that she wasn't used to Shido's compliments, and what was worse was that he wasn't the only one staring at her.

"L-Let's walk around some more," Kurumi said quickly.

Despite Shido being the one who was supposed to lead, Kurumi grabbed Shido's arm and pulled him along while moving through the crowd of people.

During the rest of the time at the festival, Shido and Kurumi played games that were being provided at the festival and tried some more food. After seeing Tohka and the others leaving the festival, Shido and Kurumi had decided to go to the shrine. In unison, they clapped their hands together and started forming their prayers as Kurumi made one wish, and Shido made the other.

_May this date be the best one that Kurumi's ever had. May this date make her the happiest spirit alive. And also…_

As Shido made the prayer, other thoughts were suddenly going on in his head.

Shido recalled the time he had dated Kurumi's clone once, the one who had gone to Tenguu City herself in search of Shido. At the end of that date, they had celebrated the Tanabata festival, and Shido had hung Kurumi's tanzaku on the highest part of the bamboo tree after she was retrieved by what seemed like the real Kurumi. While remembering the events that transpired that day, Shido also remembered the wish that Kurumi had made.

I wish that someday, I will be able to see Shido-san once more. –Kurumi Tokisaki

At that moment, Shido held his clapped hands even tighter together, until he felt another hand wrap around his. Opening his eyes, Shido turned to see Kurumi with a troubled look on her face.

"Shido-san," Kurumi said, "is something the matter?"

As Kurumi asked the question, Shido's head felt as if it had a sharp stab of pain at the back of his mind that grew the more he tried to ease the pain. Eventually, the pain spread throughout Shido's entire head, and he grabbed it as Kurumi let go of his hands. The thoughts that were flowing into his head were the moments that he had with Kurumi, all of them. They were flowing and repeating themselves in his mind intensely as Shido gave a groan. The day that they met. Their first date. Kurumi killing a man. Kurumi trying to devour Shido. Mana killing Kurumi. Kurumi nearly causing a spacequake. Kurumi's clone going on a date with Shido. Kurumi helping Shido rescue Tohka from DEM Industries. These thoughts kept repeating themselves over and over, until suddenly, they had finally stopped.

As Shido came back to his senses, he realized that he was on his knees, and Kurumi was standing beside him with a worried look on her face.

"Shido-san," Kurumi said anxiously.

She knelt down beside Shido and put her hand on his left shoulder, but the sudden act made Shido yelp and back away. Panting heavily while trying to keep his head clear, Shido stared at Kurumi wide-eyed.

Kurumi was also startled, but after a few seconds passed, Kurumi gave a look of disappointment and felt dejected. Somewhere deep in her heart, the feelings that Kurumi's clone had accumulated for Shido were lurking in the very core, and the truth was that she had wanted to have a real date with Shido again for a long time. Seeing Shido looking horrified of her, she realized that what she had done could never be forgiven by Shido, and that he could never grow out of his fear for her. And so, Kurumi felt as though she could never be free from becoming a spirit. She couldn't live a life like Tohka's or any of the other spirits' lives. Even if she was saved, no one would accept her. She had forgotten that fact. She had sinned far too greatly.

_I don't belong here._ Kurumi thought darkly. _I don't belong anywhere. That's how it's always been. How foolish of me to think that I could even think this way._

Recovering from his shock, Shido stared at Kurumi with surprise.

"K-Kuru-," Shido tried to say.

"-Shido-san," Kurumi interrupted, "tonight's date was very fun. In fact it may have been the best one I've ever had."

Hearing those words, Shido finally realized what had just happened, and tried to calm Kurumi down as best he could. But…

"Hey, Kurumi…" Shido said.

The feelings that Kurumi had absorbed from her clone were unbearable, and so Kurumi's face grew teary-eyed. Compared to the previous encounters, this expression was entirely genuine. There was no teasing intended.

As quickly as her eyes had filled with tears, Kurumi turned away and changed her clothes back into her red and black dress as she ran and left the shrine.

At first, Shido merely stood there as he felt ashamed and even a little heartbroken, however, he quickly came back to his senses and started to clench his fists tightly.

_Not this time. I'm not going to let it happen again._

After Shido's date with Kurumi's clone last year, it was true that her wish had recently come true, but now he realized that that wasn't good enough anymore.

As Shido ran after Kurumi, a thought had occurred to him.

_Why did Kurumi run away like that? Why didn't she use her powers to disappear in her shadow?_

Shido was aware that Kurumi had an ability to travel through shadows since that was how she had appeared in front of him after he tried to escape from Miku's brainwashed audience one time. After some pondering, it finally clicked. All the pieces of the puzzle were in place. The reason as to why Kurumi didn't devour Shido despite being able to do that anytime she could. The reason as to why she decided to help him save Tohka. The reason as to why her clone was there instead of her.

And so, with a resolve to save Kurumi in mind, Shido ran towards the one place that he knew Kurumi would go to no matter what, even if she didn't actually know it herself.

**_To Be Continued_**


	3. Chapters 3, 4, and Epilogue

Realization: Shido's Feelings (Chapters 3, 4, and Epilogue)

By: MeisterYM

**_Chapter 3_**

After gaining some distance from Shido and the festival, Kurumi decided to walk forward with no destination in mind. A few minutes later, she arrived at a tree that looked like it was made of bamboo. On the branches, a vast number of tanzaku were hung, each of them with what seemed like wishes written on them.

Kurumi thought something was strange. When did she know about something like tanzaku?

As she pondered the question, Kurumi noticed that she was scanning the entire bamboo tree from top to bottom as if she was looking for something, perhaps a tanzaku that she had written herself.

But the tanzaku was nowhere to be found on the tree.

As if she had just been crushed by something heavy, Kurumi's eyes started to get teary-eyed again, and so she stood there, holding back her tears as she tried to desperately recall something from a long time ago.

_What am I looking for?_ Kurumi thought to herself. _What is it that I wanted to find?_

After wiping her eyes, Kurumi started to walk past the tree.

As she was walking, Kurumi could hear a voice call out to her from behind.

"Kurumi!"

Suddenly, Kurumi's left arm was being held by her wrist, and she was pulled in the opposite direction of where she had intended to go. While being forced to turn around, Kurumi's eyes widened as she was recognizing the person who had caught her.

"Shido…san…?" Kurumi said quietly.

"Kurumi. I'm not going to let you walk out on me again. The date isn't over," Shido said while panting.

As Kurumi looked into Shido's eyes, Shido looked back into hers with an intensity that she had never seen before.

"Come on, there's one more place that I want to take you," Shido said.

And together they set out for their next destination, Kurumi obediently following with Shido holding her arm.

**_Chapter 4_**

"Kurumi, do you know what day it is today?" Shido asked as he was leading Kurumi while still tugging her arm.

"Mm," Kurumi said while shaking her head, "I feel like I should though. Was it something important that I forgot?"

"Yeah. Today is Tanabata," remarked Shido, "it's the day I went on a second date with you."

"Tana...bata...?" Kurumi repeated slowly.

There was a reason as to why Shido had planned on taking Kurumi on a date today. The fact is that today was indeed Tanabata, and it was also the day that Shido had gone on a date with Kurumi's clone, however, what Kurumi saw back where Shido had found her was the old spot that Kurumi had hung her tanzaku.

After walking at a slow pace for nearly ten minutes, Kurumi could see a tree decorated with lights, lanterns to be more precise. This tree was several times larger than the other tree, and surprisingly there was no one else approaching it.

After arriving at the new tree, Shido stopped walking, causing Kurumi to also stop walking.

"This tree was actually given to me by someone I know from Ratatoskr," Shido explained.

"…Ratatoskr?" Kurumi asked.

"It's the group that's been helping with my dates with other spirits so far," Shido continued, "except today was special. Usually I let them give me advice on how to proceed with the dates."

Shido looked at the tree and admired its height and number of decorations. Kurumi was doing the same.

"The missions didn't always work out as planned though," Shido said, "there was one spirit who I couldn't save."

"One spirit who you couldn't…?" Kurumi tried to ask, but she already knew who Shido was talking about.

As Kurumi said those words, she turned to Shido only to be greeted by the warmest smile she ever saw from him.

"Kurumi," Shido started, "I promised that I'd definitely save you." Shido said, "Look up there."

Shido pointed to a certain area of the tree as he looked at it himself. Kurumi followed the direction of Shido's finger and noticed that he was pointing to the top of the tree. At the top hung two tanzaku. The first tanzaku that Kurumi read was the one that was written by Kurumi's clone. She slowly read the wish that she made last year, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Did I write that?" Kurumi asked.

"Yeah, you did. I made sure that it was hung on a newer tree. One that was higher, so that your wish would have a better chance of being granted," Shido explained.

Next to Kurumi's tanzaku was another one that she didn't recognize. Kurumi had to read the wish twice, three times, and then finally a fourth time before staring back at Shido.

I wish Kurumi would stay here. With me. Forever. –Shido Itsuka

Despite reading the wish multiple times, Kurumi couldn't believe the wish that he had written. The man in front of her was Shido Itsuka. He was the one who saved all the spirits he could. There shouldn't be someone whom he wanted in particular to be with him. Shido was too nice for that. He couldn't just choose a single person. It had to be everyone. With that conclusion in mind, Kurumi tried to play off the wish as a joke.

"My, Shido-san, you sure know how to play with a maiden's heart," Kurumi said with a sad smile, "although I think this kind of teasing is taking things a little too far."

At that moment, Shido knew that he had to take charge.

"This isn't a joke," began Shido, "I'm serious."

Hearing those words, Kurumi could only help but continue to stare at Shido speechlessly. Even with her composure, the feelings that Kurumi had were screaming as if it wanted her to hear more. And so she stared. Listening.

"Last year, I told you that I thought Hikoboshi and Orihime were seeing each other in secret," Shido continued, "if it weren't for them seeing each other in secret, seeing each other once a year would probably kill them."

Shido clenched his fists and stood firmly.

"But even if they could meet in secret, I don't think that would be enough either. I don't want to be able to just see you again. I want to be able to see you whenever I want."

As Kurumi listened to his words, the tears that she was hopelessly holding back began to flow across her cheeks. While crying, Kurumi stared at Shido, as if what he was saying was what she wanted to hear all along. No, it was something that she had wanted to hear from him all along.

"Fortunately for us, we're not Hikoboshi or Orihime. There's nothing keeping us from each other, we're only doing this to ourselves, and I can't take it anymore."

Shido clenched his fists even tighter.

"I'll admit that the first time I saw you kill someone, I truly was scared," Shido confirmed, "but, that doesn't mean that you still can't live a normal life. And more importantly I want you to live a normal life with me."

It was true that Shido had panicked after being touched by Kurumi at the shrine, but he didn't back away out of fear. No, it was something else.

Shido took a step towards Kurumi, and held out his hand.

"Even if you did kill someone, I won't reject you. No matter what you do, I won't give up on you."

The words that Shido boldly stated rang in Kurumi's ears as she stared at his hand with tears still flowing down her cheeks. She was debating with herself as to whether she should reach out for it and grab it this time.

Meanwhile, Shido's heart was pounding. A situation like this had happened before, and repeating the scene that was similar from last time made him incredibly nervous. When Shido was so close to saving Kurumi, her stomach was pierced by a hand, Kurumi's hand. She killed herself just so she couldn't be with Shido. But now he knew. He knew that she was on his side. She was always on his side, and she wanted to be with him more than anything.

"When I was all alone, when Tohka was gone and I had no one else," Shido continued, "you came to help me when not even my sister wanted to. Even though you could've devoured me at any time, you chose not to. Even though you weren't there, you found me anyway."

That's right. Even though Kurumi disappeared, Shido always felt like he was being watched over somehow. When he needed someone the most, Kurumi was there. It made Shido realize that she was always there, in the shadows. In fact, she even knew about the time he was forced to save Miku by cross dressing. He clearly remembered Kurumi chiming his other name.

"Shiori-san~"

Maybe it wasn't always her, maybe it was one of her clones such as the one from last year, but that didn't change the fact that what happened back then was proof. Proof that Kurumi was still a person. Even then.

"I…I…" Kurumi tried to give a reply with a choked voice.

Kurumi was incredibly confused. She was being offered a second chance, and this time she truly wanted it, but there was something that she still wasn't comfortable with. Kurumi slowly reached her hand out until it met halfway between her and Shido's hand.

As if he could sense the reason as to why Kurumi was holding back, Shido grabbed Kurumi's hand, pulled her closer, and hugged her tight.

As Shido hugged Kurumi, loud popping sounds could be heard from behind and above the tree that they were standing in front of. The festival was only a block or two away, and it was located behind this tree. It had decided to launch its fireworks for the night.

"Kurumi…" Shido said, "Today's date was really different for me, and I think I'm starting to realize why."

Normally, the dates that Shido always had with the other spirits were ones where Kotori and the rest of the members of Ratatoskr gave him advice. Everything was provided by Ratatoskr, but today he wanted to pull off the date on his own. The truth was that the tree was only provided by Ratatoskr because Reine-san knew about Shido's intentions. She insisted that he use the tree for the Tanabata festival, and that it would be reserved for them for the night.

"Kurumi…" Shido began.

Shido brought his face to Kurumi's, and looked at her in the eye as she could only return his gaze with a look of surprise.

"I love you."

With the words ringing in Kurumi's ears, Shido brought his face even closer to hers - and kissed her.

As the two kissed, the fireworks that were exploding in the background exploded even louder and with more vibrant colors as if responding to their feelings. Shido and Kurumi maintained their position for minutes, until they finally broke off the kiss and looked at each other, with Shido smiling and Kurumi finally looking as if she was flustered.

Shortly after, they both turned their heads to look at the fireworks, one not letting go of the other.

**_Epilogue_**

After admiring the fireworks for a short amount of time, Shido and Kurumi both turned their heads to look back at each other.

Realizing what he had done, Shido's face grew incredibly red while Kurumi's turned even redder.

Trying to once again regain his composure, Shido let go of Kurumi and stood stiffly.

"S-Sorry, I was worried that you were going to disappear again, so I…uh…" Shido stuttered as he tried to find the right words to say.

Unfortunately, Shido couldn't speak properly at the moment due to him being nervous, which made Kurumi laugh. Shido's mouth hung open a little in awe as he listened to her laughter, because this laughter wasn't her usual laughter. No, this was a laughter that was much happier, and more carefree. After hearing Kurumi's laugh for a little longer, Shido eventually started to relax his shoulders, and gave a sigh.

That's right, Kurumi was saved now. She could spend her life with Shido, and they could go on as many dates as they wanted. There wasn't anything that would keep them apart anymore. Kurumi could stay, with Shido. She had nothing to worry about anymore. Of course her laughter would be carefree, but it was still beautiful.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Shido.

_Wait. If I kissed Kurumi, then doesn't that mean…?_

As Shido thought about how spirits were saved, Kurumi's dress gave a bright and radiant glow, and eventually started to dissolve. With a slight yelp Kurumi started covering her body. To her surprise, she was actually embarrassed to have Shido look at her like this.

Finding himself panicking, Shido merely turned around and closed his eyes as if that would give Kurumi time to find some clothes.

Sensing his embarrassment, Kurumi couldn't help but first look at Shido with her own look of embarrassment and then laugh again. After the laughter died, Kurumi's chest started to ache, as if she wanted him to hold her again. She stared at Shido for the longest time, until she finally decided to break the silence.

"Hey, Shido-san." said Kurumi.

"W-What is it?" Shido asked quickly.

"Could I borrow your shirt? It seems my spirit powers are sealed right now, so I can't make clothes of my own anymore."

"O-Oh, yeah, sorry about that."

Shido took off the shirt that he was wearing over his undershirt and started to turn around in order to wrap it around Kurumi, but as he turned around from his left, Kurumi grabbed his left arm, turned him around herself until he was facing her, and kissed Shido again. Kurumi then brought her body closer to Shido's and wrapped her arms around his neck without breaking off the kiss. In response, Shido started to hug her back, with his shirt still in one of his hands.

After breaking off from the second kiss, Kurumi leaned her head onto Shido.

"Hey, Shido-san."

"What's wrong?" Shido asked.

"I can really stay with you, right?"

Kurumi moved her head back to look at Shido with worried eyes.

"It's okay, right?"

With a smile, Shido embraced her even tighter.

"Yeah, of course." Shido said with a slight nod.

Kurumi smiled for the longest time as she and Shido continued to stare into each other's eyes, one still not letting go of the other.

A few minutes later, Shido and Kurumi decided to go to Shido's house in order to get her some clothes that were more suitable for her. Tohka and the others would be surprised when they see him home with Kurumi, but he had already made up his mind that he would convince them to let her stay with them, even if it meant begging on his knees.

On their way home, Kurumi was wearing Shido's shirt, and they were carefully walking in the direction of his house while trying not to draw anyone's attention. Fortunately, by the time Shido and Kurumi had decided to go home, it was nearly eleven at night, so there weren't too many people to be wary of.

After reaching halfway to the house, Kurumi had looked as if something was on her mind for the longest time.

"Is something the matter, Kurumi?" Shido asked curiously.

After hearing Shido ask her what was wrong, Kurumi gave a pleasant smile across her face.

"Oh, it's nothing," Kurumi replied, "You'll just have to wait and see on our next date."

Despite seeing her smile countless times in the past, Shido still wasn't used to the fact that Kurumi was able to smile so sincerely. His heart raced a little again, which forced him to look away.

"Hey, Shido-san," Kurumi said as she tried to bring back Shido's attention.

Shido looked back towards Kurumi.

"What's wrong?" Shido asked.

"I love you."

As Kurumi said those words, Shido couldn't help but be even more flustered as he clutched onto his chest and looked away again, but although he was flustered, he was also quite happy, and so was Kurumi. After seeing Shido's reaction, Kurumi gave that wonderful laughter of hers again.

Finally, for after so long, Shido had saved the girl whom he wanted to be with this whole time. He was finally able to stay by her side, knowing that he could see her every day and whenever he wanted to.

**_End_**


End file.
